First Clean Out Of Deep Litter @ 7 months.

1718 Views 30 Replies 12 Participants Last post by oldasrocks, Sep 21, 2018

dmm1976

Discussion Starter · Sep 17, 2018

I have to admit I was skeptical of this method. Not cleaning out the coop regularly and replacing the bedding went against my inner clean freak.
However, after 7 months of just stirring and topping off the bedding , here is the results. I'm very pleased. With only my 6 hens I could of probably went a whole year. But I wanted this to kickstart my compost for spring.

You can actually see where it looks like there is dirt mixed in the bedding but Ive only been using pine shavings.

I'm replacing about 1/2 the bedding, leaving some of the old that has the good bacteria as farmer Google suggests.

Also there is zero smell. It just smells like sawdust.

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altair

· #21 · Sep 19, 2018

I love deep litter too! We get a load of cedar shavings once a year from a local mill, then add lots of leaves, pine needles, and any other carbon-based stuffs.

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haypoint

· #22 · Sep 19, 2018

Lime breaks down the nitrogen. I know if you spread lime on top of nitrogen in a field, the nitrogen is vaporizes, lost to the plants. But if you work lime into the soil, so it can raise the ph, then spread nitrogen, the N isn't lost. I don't know why it works like that. I think I read it in "5 acres enough" or "3 acres and independence".

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shawnlee

· #23 · Sep 19, 2018

That looks nice in there, bet it smells good too....it just has a clean festive look. Nicest inside of a chiken coop I have seen !

altair said:
I love deep litter too! We get a load of cedar shavings once a year from a local mill, then add lots of leaves, pine needles, and any other carbon-based stuffs.

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aart

· #24 · Sep 19, 2018

haypoint said:
The ammonia would take your breath away, it was so strong.

I can't imagine that being a 'good thing'.

dmm1976 said:
What orgamisms would you suggest? I didnt add anything and that "dirt" which I knew wasn't actually dirt...it was at the bottom of the litter.

Do you think from now till March is enough time for my compost pile if I take care of it properly?

Organisms as in some already live and viable compost...it's what's needed for a true composting deep litter.

Yes, know the 'dirt' isn't dirt', why I added the apostrophes...and noted it was pulverized poops..and maybe spilled feed, dander, etc.

Have no idea how long your pile will take to break down, I just know that wood shavings can last a long time and that you don't want to mix it into your soil.

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dmm1976

Discussion Starter · #25 · Sep 19, 2018

aart said:
I can't imagine that being a 'good thing'.

Organisms as in some already live and viable compost...it's what's needed for a true composting deep litter.

Yes, know the 'dirt' isn't dirt', why I added the apostrophes...and noted it was pulverized poops..and maybe spilled feed, dander, etc.

Have no idea how long your pile will take to break down, I just know that wood shavings can last a long time and that you don't want to mix it into your soil.

Planning on using it more as mulch. I guess like everything else I've done it's just do it and see, make notes and adjust for next time.

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Grey Mare

· #26 · Sep 19, 2018

If the chicken manure has a lot of ammonia so we have to wear a mask, wouldn't that be harmful to the chickens as well?

I have wanted to try the deep litter method in the winter but we have about 16 hens in a smaller coop and they produce a lot of manure, so we clean it out each week then re-bed it with large pine shavings. Smells good, the hens love laying in it and always smells good.

Really enjoyable read though, somethings to think about with the lime and what to do for the garden next year.

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dmm1976

Discussion Starter · #27 · Sep 19, 2018

Grey Mare said:
If the chicken manure has a lot of ammonia so we have to wear a mask, wouldn't that be harmful to the chickens as well?

I have wanted to try the deep litter method in the winter but we have about 16 hens in a smaller coop and they produce a lot of manure, so we clean it out each week then re-bed it with large pine shavings. Smells good, the hens love laying in it and always smells good.

Really enjoyable read though, somethings to think about with the lime and what to do for the garden next year.

For the record, I have had no ammonia smell. I read that if you have ammonia smell doing deep litter then something is wrong and yeah it is harmful for the chickens.
I think it's definitely worth a try.

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brownegg

· #28 · Sep 19, 2018

In regards to using lime, be sure it's Ag Lime or pelletized lime (calcium carbonate)
Be careful not to use hydrated or slaked lime, (calcium hydroxide) it is caustic when wet and can burn the chooks feet.
Ag lime really does help to keep things smelling fresh longer.

be

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aart

· #29 · Sep 20, 2018

dmm1976 said:
For the record, I have had no ammonia smell.

Me, and I think @Grey Mare, were referring to this:

haypoint said:
The ammonia would take your breath away, it was so strong.

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[email protected]

· #30 · Sep 20, 2018

adding lime to the compost will end up in the garden.
the wrong amount of lime can be bad for the garden.
be sure to test your garden soil..

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oldasrocks

· #31 · Sep 21, 2018

We use some stuff they use in horse stalls to keep the ammonia smell down. Having a senior moment right now so will have to try to remember to look at the sack tomorrow. We have 25 chickens in an 8X10 house with an outside run. No smell at all. About a quart of the granules once a month does the trick.

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First Clean Out Of Deep Litter @ 7 months.

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